Weasleys: Next Generation
by Panja Mysy
Summary: It's the first year at Hogwarts for a certain set of twins...no, not the twins you're thinking of. Roxanne and Fred II find themselves experiencing the joys and sorrows of the school they've heard so much about and their first night in the castle they run into a ghost with a familiar face...a very familiar face indeed. In fact, he looks a lot like their father.
1. Chapter 1

**Been a while since I had the desire to write anything, but I'm coming back to one of my original fandoms and wanted to write about some chracters I adore very much...and the next generation!**

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Brown eyes fluttered open, stirred to waking by the mixture of the sunlight streaming through the eastern window of the bedroom as well as the sound of someone rapping their knuckles on the door. Roxanne Weasley sat up quickly as her mother's voice called through the still closed door, the realization of the importance of the day crashing over her like a wave. Immediately, she kicked the blankets off of her legs and sat up.

"I'm up, mum!" she called excitedly as she stripped off her pajamas and tossed them into the clothes hamper near her dresser before grabbing the outfit off the chair that she'd planned out the previous night. Today was an important day in her life...she would be boarding the scarlet train at King's Cross and heading to her first year at Hogwarts with her brother, Fred.

Speaking of Fred, who had no sense of propriety and respect of personal space, he came flying into her room without so much as a knock, the door slamming loudly against the wall as it announced his entrance. Thankful that she had finished dressing before he arrived, she gave him an excited look over her shoulder as she completed pulling her second sock on. He had obviously just awoken as well, his wirey reddish brown curls sticking out every which way. There was an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes, a lighter brown than her own which gave him a look more closer to their father than her, and he sat on the edge of her bed with a grin that also looked very much like George Weasley's.

"You ready for this, sis?" he said, his voice was practically quivering with excitement, "All those stories mum and dad told us...I hope our first year is just as exciting! I have a whole bag of Puking Pastilles in my trunk and dad even slipped me a few Canary Creams when mom wasn't looking!"

Roxanne couldn't help but grin right back at her twin, his eagerness was contagious and she was already about ready to fly out the door from her own store of the emotion. So she sort of did, grabbing her brother by the wrist as she passed to drag him along with her on her way to the kitchen. The two of them stumbled on the final three steps and ended up slamming into the wall at the bottom, bursting into giggles at the sound of their mother letting out a small scream from the kitchen. There was the unmistakable sound of a hand smacking a shoulder and Angelina's voice saying : "George, your kids are destroying this house!"

"They're your kids too, Ang!" George defended himself with a laugh as the two kids in question entered the kitchen to slide into their spots at the table. Their dad gave them a crroked smile and shook his head in an exhasperated way at the same time. "You two in a hurry or something?"

"Dad, don't tell me you forgot what today is?!" Fred looked at his father in horror. Roxanne rolled her eyes and kicked his leg under the table.

"Of course he didn't," she said, confidently.

Angelina joined them at the table, flicking her wand almost thoughtlessly which caused four plates containing fresh made bacon and eggs to settle in front of each of them. She waved it again and a paper flew into her hand from it's original spot on the windowsill, she read it quickly and then handed it to George to examine.

"There's the list we'll need to check off in Diagon Alley," she said calmly, but Roxanne thought she saw her mother's hand shaking a bit as she lifted her forkful of eggs to her mouth.

Breakfast passed with what felt like a snail's pace to the twins and Roxanne thought maybe their parents were dragging it out on purpose although she couldn't exactly figure out why! It was infuriating!

"Alright, you two, are your trunks packed and ready to go?" George finally asked, standing and waving the dirty dishes into the sink, no wand or incantation needed. Angelina had always appreciated his natural skill with Charms as they were excellent skills to have around the house. "Fred, your shirt's inside out. Roxanne, did you brush your teeth this morning?"

With a laugh, the twins stood, and raced back up to their rooms where Fred fixed his shirt and Roxane fixed her wild mass of dark brown curls after brushing her teeth. She gazed at her reflection for a long moment. Her skin was dark chocolate brown, just like her mother, and her hair was dark and thick and untameable and piled on her head like a lion's mane, dark brown eyes stared out from under a few loose curls on her forehead and she blinked thoughtfully. She was a Weasley...but Fred had gotten more of their father's looks, his skin lighter and his hair sporting a reddish tinge to the brown, the curls less tight and springy, his eyes lighter and more playful. She could barely see any of her father in herself and she had always wished she could because the Weasley name was well known at Hogwarts, but she looked nothing like one of them.

She sighed and straightened her blouse before turning from the mirror and telling herself there was absolutely NOTHING wrong with looking like a Johnson. After all, hadn't her mother been Captain of the Quidditch team and an amazingly talented Chaser in her years at Hogwarts?

Heartened by this thought, she made her way to the stairway and trotted down them to the kitchen where her family were all waiting for her. Angelina herded them out while George enchanted the trunks to follow them outside and into the back of the car that grandpa Arthur had helped magically extend.

"To London!" Fred yelled excitedly from the backseat and Roxanne whooped loudly as they set off towards the city to visit the shops in Diagon Alley to prepar for their first year. The twins had been to the alleyway full of shops many, many times to spend time with their father at work in the joke shop and they loved every minute of it. Uncle Ron often bought them ice cream from down the street and their dad would slip them items off the shelves at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes to pester their mother with and if Angelina was with them she would take them to the pet shop to play with the animals. Diagon Alley was definitely high on the list of places Roxanne and Fred loved.

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Several hours later the small family of Weasleys were standing between the platforms of 9 and 10 at King's Cross Station, Roxanne's hands were twisting on her baggage cart nervously as she face the seemingly solid wall she had just been told to run into by her father, Fred was behind her with his own cart making annoyed sounds through his nose.

"Come ON, Roxy!" he whined finally, bumping into her calves with his cart, "We'll miss the train at this rate. Just GO!"

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and prepared herself to run on her mother's signal. When the coast was clear and Angelina said "Ok, now!" Roxanne forced her feet to move, propelling her right towards the wall. The cat she had chosen inthe pet shop let out a frightened yowl that almost made her lose her nerve, but then she realized the sounds around her had changed and there as a strong smell of soot in the air. She peeked through her squinted eyes and then popped them open wide, she had made it...and it was wonderful! The Hogwarts Express was waiting on the tracks with all manner of people winding around eachother on the platform, excited children dragging their luggage to the porter who was waving trunks and bags into the baggage car with his wand, owls hooted from cages and cats meowed from carriers, a few students even had Pygmy Puffs on their shoulders, straight from her father's shop. Emboldened, she moved foreward a ways and turned to give her family a bright smile when they appeared through the bricks behind her.

She and Fred dragged their trunks over to the porter and carried their robes and their new pets back with them to where their parents stood, both of them looking unusually stiff as they stood close with their hands clasped tight between them. Angelina's eyes were brimming with unshed tears and George kepts swallowing as though there was something caught deep in his throat. As they approached, George released his hold on their mother's hand and pulled Fred aside to speak with him privately about something and Roxanne stared after them for a moment before she found her mother's hand resting on her shoulders and she looked up to see her gazing down with pride shining bright in her eyes.

"Remember, Roxy...no matter what the years at Hogwarts may throw at you, friends and family are the most important things you have. Study hard, focus on what you want and you and Freddie be sure to have eachother's backs at all times. Understand?"

Roxanne did understand. Her brother and her had a bond that ran deeper than normal siblings, a bond she knew her father understood and had no reason to remind her of...but she heard the meaning behind her mother's words: never take their bond for granted.

"Mom?" she ventured to ask, glancing over at her father and brother before speaking in a lower tone, "Do you think the teachers will dislike us because of dad and Uncle Fred's reputations?"

Angelina laughed, genuinely and brightly, shaking her head immediately.

"Oh, honey, you would be surprised just how much the teachers even admired the two of them. Don't worry about what our generation did...you and Fred can choose any path you want."

Roxanne opened her mouth to respond but the final boarding call was raised and a train whistle made speaking impossible over it's sound so she clamped her jaws shut, containing her fears and doubts behind her teeth as her father and brother returned; Fred was slutching something close to his thigh that she thought looked like a wand...odd.

"Alright, you two," George said, his voice sounded both excited and strained at the same time and he was still doing that weird swallowing thing. He leaned over and pulled his daughter into a tight hug, one that lasted a bit longer than Roxanne thought was normal, and then placed a kiss on top of her head before straightening back up and smiling at both of them. "Be good, but not TOO good. Don't forget to have a little fun along with the work, eh?"

Fred's grin was tinged with the promise of having more fun than would probably fall under the "good" catagory and Roxanne nodded in agreement at the advice before the twins turned in unison and stepped up into the scarlet train for the first time. They waited by the nearest window as the train lurched foreward and waved out of it to their parents who were trotting alongside it like a pair of kids, waving and smiling and yelling out promises to write often and send them parcels. Then they were gone, the train had passed by the outside wall of the station and was heading towards the countryside in the distance at a rapid speed already.

"Guess we had best choose a compartment then?" Roxanne sighed as she shifted the weight of her new cat in his carier to her other hand. Fred nodded and made off down the hall with a confident strut, leaving his sister to follow if she chose. And she did. The pair of them wandered down the rows of compartments until they had very nearly exhausted all their options and Fred finally just huffed and slid open the next door on their left, leaning on the frame and crossing his arms as he grinned at the inhabitants.

"Hey, is this one full or...blimey!" he let out a laugh and waved Roxanne closer so she could get a look at the inhabitants of the compartment. One was a girl with long, wavy hair the color of a bay horse as it changed from black to dark brown depending on the lighting and angles...the other two faces were male, bright blue eyed, olive skinned, pale blonde hair...and completely identical.

"Hullo!" the identical boys both greeted at once, one of them waved in a friendly sort of way and the girl with the black-brown hair patted the seat beside her as if requesting they sit down.

"Do you mind?" Roxanne asked, feeling a bit timid all of a sudden. But her question was met with loud welcomes and she found herself sitting next to the dark haired girl and one of the blonde twins while Fred took the seat across from her next to the other.

"I'm Lorcan Scamander and that's me brother, Lysander," the twin on her seat announced with a twinge of Irish in his accent, pointing first to himself and then his brother in a casual introduction. "And this is...sorry, I forget?"

The dark haired girl sniffed out a wry laugh through her nose and Roxanne wasn't sure if she was insulted or amused, but then she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms behind her head with a look of someone who couldn't really be bothered to care about much.

"My name's Amelia," she stated simply, "Amelia Halliday."

"I'm Fred and this is my sister, Roxanne." Fred offered in return, and quickly added as if it were almost an afterthought, "Weasley."

"No way?" Amelia sat up straight and glanced between the pair of them, her mind seeming to be working at a furious pace, "You're not related to the famous Ron Weasley, are you? The bloke who ran with Harry Potter?"

"He's our uncle," Roxanne said with a nod.

"Well, now you two are a bit more interesting than I figured you'd be," Amelia stated, bluntly, "I mean, Lorcan and Lysander are Scamanders and their great, great grandfather was Newt Scamander, you know, the guy who literally wrote the book on magical creatures? Now we've also got Weasleys in here!"

Roxanne felt her cheeks heat up and she laughed lightly.

"Well, the only thing our father is famous for is being a troublemaker so..."

She stopped speaking immediately when she saw the look on Fred's face, he looked rather mutinous.

"He's a war hero, sis," he said sternly, "Did your parents fight in the Battle of Hogwarts too?"

"Our mum did," Lysander said.

Amelia glanced down at the floor and did not respond...and they all fell into a bit of an awkward silence that was only broken by the appearance of the trolley witch who came to their door and offered them treats. Lorcan pulled out a half dozen Galleons and bought a rather impressive assortment of sweets for them all to share. Roxanne had just popped a tomato flavored Berttie Bott's Every Flavour Bean into her mouth when Amelia suddenly spoke in a shrill voice:

"My parents fought at the Battle of Hogwarts!"

Every head turned to look at her in surprise, Fred had a licorice whip hanging past his chin that he halted chewing so it hung there like a ridiculously long and thing tongue. Amelia ducked her head again but this time her unwillingness to speak didn't last and when she raised her head, her eyes flashed dangerously.

"They were on Voldemort's side, weren't they?" Roxanne asked quietly, realizing quite suddenly why their companion had been unwilling to share before.

"Yes."

Another long and heavy silence hung about them, each one mulling this information over in their minds...finally, it was Lysander who spoke:

"And do you think they were right?"

Amelia's head snapped up again and she glared at the blonde with such fierceness that Fred actually inched away from his side a little bit to escape the wrath associted with him.

"If I did, would I be excited about sharing a compartment with Weasleys and Lovegoods?"

Lovegoods? Roxanne looked at the twin blondes a bit closer and comprehension dawned on her...Luna Lovegood, the Magizoologist from Ravenclaw House must be their mother. It made sense when she looked closer at their matching blue eyes and saw just a tinge of something unique in them, something she had seen reflected in the eyes of the Luna Lovegood chocolate frog cards she'd seen...either a touch of madness or pure brilliance, she wasn't quite sure.

"An excellent point," Fred chirped, seemingly convinced by that statement alone as he continued to chew on the licorice in his mouth. Roxanne wished she could share her brother's easy going nature but she couldn't help the coil of suspicion that had settled in her stomach. Halliday wasn't a name she recognized from her parents' stories of the battle, but still...they had been there, they had probably killed good, innocent people...

"HOGSMEADE STATION!"

The announcement made all of them jump a little in surprise, none of them had expected the journey to pass that quickly but one look out the window proved that night had fallen already and they hadn't even taken notice of it. There was no more time to be suspicious of her newfound acquaintance because robes needed to be donned over their uniforms and bags and pets needed to be collected. Soon the train had begun to slow and the first portion of the Hogsmeade Station whizzed past the windows until they came to a complete stop.

They made their way off the train and set their remaining baggage on the platform as ordered by the massive and hairy man who was waiting for them by the stairway leading down to the lake where Roxanne saw dozens of boats floating on the dark surface of the water. She felt a bit sick...water was not something she was fond of.

"Well 'ello, First Years! Over 'ere now, over 'ere!"

The First Years obeyed like sheep and all of them flocked to the man quickly, Fred tugged Roxanne's sleeve and excitedly whispered the name "Hagrid" into her ear which caused her to smile; their dad had always spoken highly of the Gameskeeper/Professor and she felt immediately better about the boat trip if Hagrid would be leading them.

"A'right now, everyone gather 'round and listen!" Hagrid spoke over the sound ofthe older students milling around on the platform. He proceeded to inform them of the Lake Crossing and how their luggage would arrive at the castle before they even reached it so not to worry and then breifly touched on the Sorting Ceremony. Roxanne felt a tightening in her gut at the mention of it and she glanced at Fred and knew by the expression her wore that he was just as concerned as she was. Their parents had simply refused to tell them how they were sorted into the Houses, claiming the anticipation was half the experience. What sort of test would one have to complete in order to earn their place in a House as great as Gryffindor? Would those who failed be put into Hufflepuff?

She had plenty of time to worry about it as they clambored into the boats andbegan to glide smoothly across the water towards the yellow lights of Hogwarts in the distance and she was alarmed at how quickly they seemed to be getting to their destination. She wanted to make a plan, be ready for what was coming...but how can you be prepared for something you have no idea about? She grasped her twin's hand firmly out of a need to share their fears through the touch and she found his skin was clammy and his hand was shaking as well. Fred may not let it show, but he was just as nervous as she was.

Finally, and yet all too soon, the first boats hit the shoreline and student poured out of them and began a poorly organized procession up to the castle's entryway where they were greeted by a very short, very wizened and old wizard who spoke in a squeaky voice. He held in his hands a scroll and he ran down a short history of the four Houses and their founders and Roxanne felt her attention waver since she had heard all of this before and she found herself looking at Amelia; she looked pale and unsteady as she listened to the tiny wizard share the familiar stories.

There was no time to dwell on it, however, as the doors in front of them swun open as if od their own accord and the tiny wizard, Professor Flitwick, turned and led them inside towards a massive room full of voices and clinking of cutlery and plates. Nothing could have prepared Roxanne for the sight that awaited them through the massive doors of the Great Hall and her jaw dropped in unison with her brother's as they gazed up at the enchated ceiling in awe. Fred pointed at the Northern Star as it glittered right where a support beam would be on any normal ceiling and they were so transfixed by the sight that they didn't even notice how the sound of voices had ceased until they all came to a stop at the front of the room near the Head Table. Roxanne tore her eyes from the ceiling and looked up at the slightly raised platform where a stool was placed, a dingy looking, frayed hat sat upon it and she cocked her head curiously as she tried to decide what this was all about.

She didn't need to wait long because a large rip above the hat's brim seemed to open like a mouth and it was suddenly singing! It sang of the four founders and their falling out and the dark times and the bright times and sang of the victory over the Dark Lord...and when it fell silent Professor Flitwick stepped foreward and cleared his throat before calling out: "Applebee, Peter!"

Peter Applebee turned out to be a thin, beanpole of a boy with a shock of black hair and stunningly bue eyes and he nervously stumbled up to the stool and sat. Flitwick, who had enchanted himself to hover high enough to reach, placed the frayed, singing hat onto Peter Applebee's head. For a long moment, nothing happened, and Roxanne began to feel second hand embarrassment for Peter...but then: "RAVENCLAW!"

The hat shouted the name of one of the four Houses and Peter Applebee slid off the stool looking nervous but excited as he made his way to the table where students in blue hooded robes were cheering for their new addition. So, THIS was the test? Put on a manky old hat and it would tell you where you would spend the next seven years of your life? It sounded like a faulty system to her...but she remembered her mother claiming the test was flawless and always ended up being the right choice.

Burns, Clair ended up in Gryffindor. Two kids with the last name Endsley who were not related were put in Ravenclaw. Fortescue, Rolland was sent slinking off to Slytherin and Golden, Piper was chosen for Hufflepuff. Then Flitwick squeked out "Halliday, Amelia!" and Roxanne felt her heart in her throat as she watched the familiar girl make her way up to the stool with a determined sort of look on her face. The hat remained silent for what seemed an abnormally long time and Flitwick pulled out his pocketwatch to check the time, he was about to speak when finally the seam opened and shouted: "SLYTHERIN!"

Roxanne's heart sunk. Slytherin...that was the House that turned out the most evil witches and wizards and had a reputation for it's unsavory sort of students as well as a common room found in the DUNGEONS of all places...did that mean Amelia truly wasn't to be trusted?

The crowd of unsorted First Years was quickly dwindling and Roxanne clapped along with the rest at each shout the hat gave, although a bit more enthusiastically for Lorcan and Lysander who were both sent off to the Hufflepuff table although she felt a bit sad about it because she had hoped they would be with her and Fred in Gryffindor! And not long after that, she and Fred were the last two unsorted children who remained.

"Weasley, Fredrick!" Flitwick squeaked and Roxanne could have sworn there was a tinge of something sad in his tone as he called the name. Fred sauntered up to the stool and sat there looking for all the world as if he was unfazed by the ceremony, but the way his left leg bounced gave away the tension Roxanne knew he was teeming with. The hat was barely even set on his head when it yelled: "GRYFFINDOR!" and there was an uproar of applause from the table directly behind her that almost drowned out the "Weasley, Roxanne!" that followed the hat's decision for her twin.

Swallowing her fear, she dragged her suddenly much to long and heavy legs up to the stool and sat on it, feeling silly for her fear but tryin not to let either of those emotions show as the hat was slipped onto her head, the brim coverin her eyes so the whole school disappeared. Indeed, she could no loner hear them either, it was as if she and the hat were alone.

"Ahhhh, if it isn't another Weasley; not only that, but another twin too! Let's see what lies inside you then, hmmmmm?" The hat spoke to her in a sort of hushed tone, wise sounding and patient as it scoured her mind for the core of her personality. "You come from a long line of brave and daring individuals, don't you? Yes, yes, your father and his brother...I remember placing them in their day...a very close call with them...I believe it was the correct call in the end but you...you are nothing like them, are you?"

Her stomach dropped, a thousand insecurities came flooding in. She craved so much to be like her father and yet she never could make jokes as easily as her brother nor could she ever come up with new ideas for items in the shop, she could rarely pull off a decent prank without it being found out ahead of time. And yet she wasn't anything like her mother either...her sport abilities were zero and her drive to be the best barely had any effect on her. She wasn't like a Weasley. She wasn't like a Johnson. She was...just Roxanne.

"Just you, eh? And this is something that worries you, I see. You try so hard to live up to what's expected of you and you lose sight of what you truly want to become...it seems to me that you need to be put somewhere where you can find out who you truly are and live among students like yourself who are struggling to find a solid identity. I've made my decision then...it had best be..."

And if Roxanne had been scared before, it was nothing compared to the stone that sunk into her belly at what the Hat shouted to the entire school: "SLYTHERIN!"

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 **Well, there's the start! Let me know what you think so far if you would be so kind :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chappie 2! Whether you want it or not :)**

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It was as if the world had stopped, as if she had gone suddenly deaf to everything but her own heartbeat that pounded in her ears like a bass drum. Unfortunately, she was not blind and as soon as the hat was lifted from her head she saw her brother staring at her with eyes wide and worried, Lorcan and Lysander both had their identical heads cocked in confusion, three whole tables full of students were staring at her with disbelief...and when she looked over at the table full of Slytherins she found Amelia staring at her with her jaw slack. Somehow, and she would never know how, Roxanne stood and made her way over to the table on her right, everything around her feeling blurred and surreal and joined the students of her new House.

Headmistress McGonagall had risen to give her start of school welcome speech, but Roxanne didn't hear a word of it, she simply sat there staring down at her empty plate, her mind racing and her heart thudding against her chest. Not even the serving trays filling with incredible looking food shook her from her newfound existence in her own world of disbelief and shock. Slytherin...she was a Slytherin. Could she ask to try on the hat again? Surely it was a mistake! She was a WEASLEY, for Merlin's sake and everyone knew Weasleys went to Gryffindor! Tears began to burn in her eyes as she stared without blinking for so long...tears from the strain not blinking and tears of shame and regret. What would her parents think? What was Freddie thinking of her right now?

This thought finally made her look up and she was immediately locked eye to eye with her twin from across the two tables between them. He looked worried, but she was relieved to see nothing sinister or distrusting his gaze. She managed a weak smile and a nod to reassure him and even placed a chicken leg on her plate to seem as if she was functioning...he blinked at her several times and then nodded slowly before returning to his meal. Roxanne DID eat the chicken leg but she didn't taste it at all and as she reached for another, her hand slid into something very cold that caused her to shriek and yank it back.

A head! A head was sitting on the platter of food and then slowly rising to reveal a shimmering form of a ghostly woman, in fact there were now ghosts popping out of walls and tables and the ceiling everywhere, their voices calling out to the students as they flew around and greeted them all. Roxanne watched them, fascinated and distracted from her previous worries by the sight, and even found herself smiling as the Fat Friar grabbed his rotund stomach and made it bounce which cause the Hufflepuff table to erupt into racous laughter. Her eyes travelled over the various spirits for a while until she finally got bored and decided to try and eat a bit more...her stomach was in knots and she figured a bit of substance in it might help.

"PEEVES! LET 'EM HAVE IT!" a voice called out over the din of the Great Hall, causing very head to raise at once, eyes searching around for the source of the command. McGonagall had jumped to her feet.

"Don't you two dare..." she began, but it was too late.

"FOOD FIGHT!" the voice called again and Roxanne didn't have a chance to spot the owner of it before all manner of food was flying around the Hall. Puddings smashed aganst the walls, whole fish were used as weapons and smacked across faces, cups of pumpkin juice and water were being dumped over heads. The ammunition of choice seemed to be mashed potatoes and Roxanne was horrified to find a glob of it smashed right into the back of her neck as she attempted to duck out of the way. Fired up and determined not to be outdone, Roxanne seized a handful of chicken legs and launched them like throwing knives with deadly precision, connecting with the foreheads of three unfortunate Ravenclaws at the next table over.

"Ha!" she laughed triumphantly and reloaded her hands with green onions and a slice of mince pie, her enthusiasm for the fight and the stress built up inside her over being thrown into Slytherin caused her to stand up on the table among the tipped goblets and tossed plates, looking down at the crowd as she brandished her pie slice. "Bring it on!"

The battle raged on for quite some time until, somehow, all the food on the tables vanished as quickly as it had appeared earlier and McGonagall stood at the head table looking furious and exhausted all at once.

"Enough of this nonsense!" she snapped, glaring up towards the enchanted ceiling. Roxanne and the rest of the First Years followed her gaze and discovered an odd looking little man wearing a belled hat and bright colored clothes. "Peeves, need I remind you that you are only here because of my ood nature? Push your luck and I have every capability of tossing you out!"

Peeves stuck out his tongue before settling into a crosslegged sit in midair, crossing his arms and looking very much like a child who had been scolded by his mother.

"And YOU, Mr. Weasley..."

At this, Roxanne's attention went from the hovering poltergeist to a spot on the ceiling where the support beams crossed because movement on the beam informed her that someone was there among the stars of the enchanted ceiling. And when the translucent figure dropped down to hover over the Gryffindor table in a stance that she reconized immediately. Even in this form, see through and faded, the flaming red hair was obvious, and the clothes, and that crooked smile...

"D...dad?" It was her brother who spoke as he sat staring up at the ghost over his table and Roxanne brought her hand to her mouth in horror. It wasn't possible...they had left their father alive and well on the platform at King's Cross...surely if something had happened then they would have been informed. She couldn't help it, a sob escaped her throat that was so loud that everyone in the Hall turned to look at her. Everyone, including the apparition of her father.

"No...no..." she repeated fearfully as the ghost approached her quickly, "It can't be..."

That was when she realized this image of their father looked younger and there was something different about the way it 'stood' and as it got closer she realized there was something different about the eyes and shape of the nose...and this one had both ears.

"You're..." she whispered almost reverently as it clicked in her mind exactly who it was she was looking at and the nod from the ghost proved that she was correct, "Uncle Fred."

For a moment, he simply stared at her, studying her closely and she couldn't tell what he was thinking because his expression gave absolutely no clue. He was about to speak, looking somewhat confused, when he was interrupted by the Headmistress.

"Fred Weasley, you and Peeves get out of this Hall this instant, I shall speak to you later!" McGonagall's voice sounded furious and Roxanne glanced over at her and realized she was scourgefying mashed potato out of her robes. Fred rolled his eyes and smirked before winking at his niece and floating back up to the ceiling where Peeves was backflipping and dropping candy onto students' head below.

"C'mon then," Fred nodded towards the doors of the hall and the two of them sped off towards it, the redhead pausing a moment to look back at the students and waved to the crowd before vanishing through the doors.

Roxanne managed a weak wave before they were gone and then she clambored over the Slytherin table to get to her brother who was looking shocked and a bit sick.

"Roxy...that was..." he stuttered, still staring at the doorway their Uncle's spector had vanished through.

"Yeah..." she whispered, still unsure how she should be reacting. They had heard so much about him and had always commented on their father's tales about their escapades with a mutual 'I wish we could have met him', but she never dreamed she actually would.

"Dad doesn't know," Freddie's voice reached her ears and she realized that he was right. He had never mentioned his brother being a ghost or being here at the school, he couldn't possibly know.

McGonagall, seeing that the feast was too far gone to continue, dismissed the students to their dormatories. Roxanne hugged her brother tightly before moving off to the right to join the trail of new Slytherins in their walk towards the corridor. The Slytherin Prefect was a tall boy with spiked black hair that rose far above the heads of the younger students so she kept her eyes trained on the back of his head and tried not to focus on the emotional rollercoaster she'd been riding on the entire day. When they reached the staircases, her momentary awe at the sight was overshadowed by the sick feeling of seeing her brother veer to the left towards Gryffindor Tower...she would be heading downward to the dungeons.

When the train of Slytherins reached the entry to their common room, Roxanne tried her best to memorize the twists and turns they had made down the corridor for future reference, but her heart yearned so furiously to be ascending the stairs to the tower with her brother and so it was difficult to think about willingly coming to this part of the castle...but she had little choice. So she followed the rest of the First Years through the doors and her jaw dropped at the sight.

She had never expected the dungeons nor Slytherin House to be so...welcoming! She scanned the entire room with wide eyes, something deep, deep inside her was stirring awake as she took in the sight of the comfy looking chairs near the large fireplace at the far end of the room and the green tinted lights that were magically suspended below the ceiling that bathed the whole place in a soft, eerie sort of glow. There were older students already perched at the large round table in the center of the room, a pack of Exploding Snap cards laying out signalled they were about to begin a rousing game, a boy sat in the armchair nearest the fire with his cat on his lap, both of them looking serene and peaceful, there were snacks laid out on a table near the entryway and a sign that read "Welcome, new Snakes!" and she could have sworn she saw a mermaid pass by the large windows that looked out into the green depths of the lake. It was nothing like she imagined...it was...wonderful.

But she would never admit it out loud and she maintained a sour expression as the female Prefect, her name was something Roxanne didn't catch but she thought it might have been Anna, explained where their dormatory was and led them towards a stairway to the left of the room. Amelia caught her eye as they awkwardly sidestepped eachother to fit on the stairs in a single line and Roxanne didn't even bother acknowledging her hopeful gaze. She would not accept this...she was a Gryffindor, she WAS, no matter what some stupid, tattered hat told her! But that stirring inside her had increased and she began to understand what it was: affiliation.

The dorm room was even harder not to admit to finding appealing, she was horrified to find, in fact it was an absolutely perfect setup and she found herself speechless. The floor was dark grey marble, smooth and cold and perfectly complimenting the soft blue green hue the room had due to the lake in the windows. The windows themselves were tall and interwoven with intricate metal designs, a sitting area in between the center windows looked like a perfect spot to study and the curtains pulled to either side were heavy and emerald in color and she knew they would block out the green light for sleeping. Torches lined the walls sparsely, thick green candles wrapped in wrought iron sconces shaped like serpents, and they cast just enough light to bring a cozy atmosphere to the large room. In the center of the room was a shallow, rectangular pool which separated the room into two sides where the solid ebony canopy beds lined the walls. The trappings were darker emerald and the comforters were lined with silver and tassled on the ends...and they looked so comfortable that Roxanne found herself wanting to dive right into the nearest one.

"This is your dormatory, First Years. You will be stuck together in here with eachother for even years unless someone drops out or gets expelled or killed, so you all had best get along. I had better not have to deal with any of you breaking the rules or trying to be a hero like that Potter kid back in the day. Just go to class and keep your heads down and don't make me have to exercise my Prefect duties. Alright, get comfortable and...welcome home."

Roxanne smirked in spite of herself...she was determined not to like Anna, but she reminded her so much of her Uncle Percy that an affinity had already begun to take hold of her towards the sassy, no nonsense blonde Prefect.

With a heavy sigh, Roxanne moved towards the bed on the far left of the room, nearest the window, because she suddenly recognized the trunk at the foot of that particular bed as her own, the golden R.W. on the lid was like a beacon to her and she threw it open and busied herself with unpacking so she wouldn't have to make eye contact with any of her dorm mates. But Amelia had other plans.

"So...you're a closet Slytherin, huh?" her voice held an obvious hint of delight and Roxanne felt her jaw clench unpleasantly in response but she ignored it and tossed her pajama onto the bed before diving back into the trunk for her wand as Amelia continued, "I always knew this is where I would be but I thought for sure you'd be in Gryffindor like every other damn Weasley on this planet."

SLAM!

The trunk lid came down with a noise that made everyone in the dorm jump except for Roxanne herself and all eyes turned to the pair at the far left bed, tension hung heavy in the air as both girls glared at eachother. The silence finally broke when Roxanne spoke in a deadly serious voice:

"You think I don't know that?"

The other four girls immediately turned their backs on the situation in favor of pretending to unpack their truncks, but Roxanne could tell they were still listening closely. Amelia simply stared at her, blinking slowly and looking undisturbed by the wrath directed at her, a corner of her mouth slightly curled in a wry smile.

"Listen, Weasel, it's not the end of the world," she responded easily, "So you got put in a different House, big deal! What are they gonna do, disown you?"

Roxanne gulped, anger giving away to worry at that question. No, surely they wouldn't be so diappointed that they wouldn't accept her in the family...would they? Her brother would, she knew, but she could only imagine the looks on Uncle Ron and Harry's faces when she showed up at Christmas dinner sporting green instead of scarlet. Tears began to form in her eyes and she wiped at the angrily with the sleeve of her robe.

"I just...they'll be so disappointed..." she whispered, she gazed up at Amelia pleadingly, as if begging her to go make a deal with the Sorting Hat and fix this mess for her. Amelia remained stoic, however.

"Well, sorry Weasel, but the fact is the hat saw something in you that made it choose this House for you and there is nothing you can do to change it. I suggest you pull yourself up off the floor and stop being so pathetic about it and move on. So you're not in the Lion House, whoopty doo! Why don't you blaze your own trail for once instead of trying to be like everyone else?"

And she stood, turning to open her own trunk and unpack, leaving her words for Roxanne to chew on...and chew she did.

It was true and she knew it. Slytherin was as far from Weasley and Johnson she could get, it was uncharted territory, it was new and bold and frightening...and it was her chance to prove herself. A chance to find her own way.

Maybe...just maybe that hat had made the right choice after all.

"OH MY GOD!" the shriek of one the other girls, a short, plump girl with brown hair, rang out and everyone turned to see what the fuss was about. It was pretty obvious though: a ghost had strode right through the wall and completely unabashed by the various states of undress, hovered straight over to Roxanne. It was Fred.

"It's ok," she quickly assured her frightened room mates, "He's...well..."

"He's your dead uncle," Amelia spouted from her bed.

"Thanks for the reminder, you snot," Fred grumbled, giving Amelia a look of semi amusement before turning his attention fully on Roaxanne. He was looking at her with that intense scanning gaze again and she shifted uncomfortably before speaking.

"H-hey, Uncle Fred..."

He smiled, a genuine smile that reminded her so much of her father that it induced a bit of homesickness, but there was something unique about it as well, a deeper hint of mischief and trouble and promise about it.

"So, uh, not to be rude, but whose are you?" he asked with a little chuckle.

"Y-your brother..."

"Gotta be more specific, kiddo, I had five of them."

Roxanne stared at him for a long moment in silence, blinking rapidly in disbelief. _Had_ he said, as if he no longder had them...and he didn't realize which brother she meant. Carefully, she responded barely above a whisper.

"I'm George Weasley's daughter."

Some strong emotion flickered over his face for a moment and he seemed to have to think for a second before knowing how to respond, but he gave her a cheeky grin and nodded.

"Ah ha...so he finally had the nerve to go after Angelina then? Knew he had it in 'im."

It seemed like an odd reaction to Roxanne, as if he was deflecting the weight of her statement, but she let it slide and just nodded in response with a small smile.

"Not to break up this family reunion or anything," a rather imposing girl at the farthest end of the bunks said with a heavy tone of sarcasm, "But I'm not fond of the idea of some random Gryffindor ghost wandering into my bedroom at any hour he pleases. So why don't you take your little tongue wagging session elsewhere?"

Roxanne felt herself blushing brightly, realizing how odd it truly was to be conversing with a Gryffindor ghost, a male one at that, in the middle of the Slytherin girl's dormatory, but Fred simply hovered exactly where he was and ignored the girl almost entirely...except for the choice finger he chose to point in her direction.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist," he said easily to the girl before giving Roxanne his full attention, "So...George's daughter, huh? In Slytherin?"

"Yeah...looks like it," Roxanne said with a sigh, and then something inside her latched onto this echo of her Uncle and she immediately felt the need to tell him EVERYTHING that was churning in her heart and soul and she opened her mouth to spill them. She was stopped, however, by the warning look on his face and the hand that raised to motion for her not to say anything.

"I'm sure we have a LOT to discuss," he said, pointedly glancing at her dorm mates, "But it's rather late and you've got a busy day tomorrow, yeah? I'm gonna go check on your brother and introduce myself still. Can't get any rest even when I'm dead, geez!"

He gave her a wink and whispered "Meet me on the 7th floor after dinner. There's a tapestry of a guy trying to teach trolls to dance...we can talk there."

And, as she watched the silvery shape of her Uncle disappear again through the wall, Roxanne thought she would burst into tears from the disappointment...and yet there was a spark of hope in her chest.

 **XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx**

 **Sorry if this feels a bit rushed, but I have to be up at 4 am and I wanted to get this out to you all :)**


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